A gas explosion at a coal mine in Qinyuan County, north China's Shanxi Province, has left eight people dead and 38 others trapped underground, local authorities said Saturday.

The accident occurred at 7:29 p.m. Friday at the Liushenyu Coal Mine, where a total of 247 workers were underground at the time of the blast.

As of 6 a.m. on Saturday, 201 miners had been safely lifted to the surface. Search and rescue operations for the remaining trapped workers are underway, and the cause of the explosion is under investigation.